Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Controversy: Twitter for Tat

This morning started off like any other. I awoke at dawn to the call of my trusty rooster, Magnifico. As I rubbed the sleep and other crud from my eyes, my helper monkey, Vito, arrived with my customary cup of hot herbal tea, which--as is also customary--he proceeded to spill all over my crotch. Now alert, I shuffled into my sun parlor where a soggy bowl of Froot Loops was waiting for me. (I prepare the Froot Loops before I retire each evening so they're nice and mushy by the time I wake up.) After breakfast, I mounted the Ironic Orange Julius Bike and rode down the hall and past oil paintings of my favorite "Three's Company" characters to my office, where I opened my 19th century roll-top desk and fired up my computer, Ol' Buckshot. While waiting for it to "boot up," I sipped from a cocktail--only to spit mint julep all over my screen when I saw what awaited me.

But first, I should provide a bit of background. As everybody knows by now, this past weekend the North American Handmade Bike Show (otherwise known as "Lugfest 2010") took place in Richmond, VA. What many people also know is that on Thursday a bold and mysterious heist took place when a folding bike belonging to Mike Flanigan of ANT was stolen from in front of the Marriott hotel. The caper was "re-tweeted" widely and show-goers were advised to be on the lookout:

In addition to the many "tweets" concerning the theft, Flanigan himself posted a photo of a bicycle similar to the missing one on his blog as well as some additional background:

Then, four days passed, during which Flanigan and other builders exhibited their wares in Richmond, I traveled to a remote and bike-free land via airplane and rental car (Ford Focus SES, complete with cosmetic spoiler and rear drum brakes), and other real-life things that were actually important such as earthquakes and health care summits also happened. Yesterday I resumed posting, and last night someone posted in the comments a link to the following Craigslist post:

found this out side of the Marriot Friday and it looked like it had been there awhile so I took it home but it's kinda gay. I really don't want to lose my hood pass so I'll let it go cheep.

It was immediately obvious to me that the post was a fake. First of all, the photo was the same one posted by Flanigan on his blog, and besides that the "kinda gay" and "don't want to lose my hood pass" comments reeked of wise-assery. While the post was certainly a cheap joke, it was also topical, and being a "curator" of both topical bike-related jokes and a Twitter account I figured the fake post was worthy of a "tweet:"

In doing so, I simply assumed anybody looking at it would immediately realize it was a fake. Even though the post was basically a cheap joke about an unfortunate situation, it wasn't exactly malicious, and I figured no harm would come from referencing it. There's a difference between a cheap bike theft joke and, say, an earthquake joke. We've all been victims of bike theft, and apart from the loss of property fortunately nobody was hurt. Moreover, it seemed to me that it was a good thing that the incident had entered the cycling "zeitgeist" to the point that someone was parodying it. If anything, this would only make it more likely some cyclist in Richmond might actually spot it. The same thing happened back in 2008 with that Michael Green guy when websites everywhere started posting about his stolen bike--which he ultimately got back.

Little did I know my "tweet" would not elicit chuckles but would in fact set in motion a series of events that would change my life irrevocably--or at least for a few hours. Unfortunately, it seemed that some people who saw the "tweet" did not realize the Craigslist post was a fake. Furthermore, some of them also thought I actually created it. One of these people was Mike Flanigan himself, who in addition to emailing me also posted the following on his blog:*

It was at this point that I spat the mint julep, for while I notice Flanigan has subsequently redacted the "fucking asshole" comment it still came as quite a shock. Apparently some people close to Flanigan thought the Craigslist post was real and called him late at night, waking up his family! Had I any inkling that would happen I would certainly have never "tweeted" the link, but now it was too late. Not only did a respected (and now sleep-deprived) bike builder think I was a "fucking asshole," but he was also under the impression that I create phony Craigslist postings, and my blog was indeed now stricken from among the "Killer Bs" in his blogroll:

I was now in a state of emotional crisis. Had I gone too far by "tweeting" the spurious link? Perhaps in spending my days thorax-deep in cycling-related absurdity I have lost touch with what the ordinary person is able to recognize as parody. Perhaps I've also lost touch with when it is appropriate to call somebody on the phone late at night (I would think the "I may have found your bike" call could have waited until morning or at least been delivered by email) but then again it didn't occur to me anybody would think the Craigslist post was real in the first place. Here's a blog post from Marty Walsh at Geekhouse, who also reveals the fake Craigslist ad even set a sting operation in motion!I only hope the damage wrought by this whole regrettable situation is not irrevocable, and it has certainly sent me fishing within myself for even the smallest mackerel of decency. Fortunately, I have received a nibble in the form of an email from Sergio Gonzales, the winner of The Great Meh BSNYC Free Scat Contest!, who has now taken delivery of his bicycle and sent me a photo of himself with his prize:

Looking at this photo and the joy on Sergio's face eases all the pain of "ANTgate." I know I picked the right winner. He says he sees "a bright future" before him and his new bike, and I am proud to have helped in a tiny way to facilitate his single-speed travels down the path of world domination.

I only wish I could elicit similar pleasure from Mike Flanigan--perhaps I should try to "pull some strings" and get him a free Scattante.

201 comments:

I owe my high placement in todays stage of le Tour de Lobster to my use of Luzianne Coffee.The fact that this coffee includes chicory is what made it possible.Love to stay and chat, but I have to run! You want me to do what with that cup?

am i missing what is so special about this bike? my uncle just had his two week old bike stolen and instead of waiting for it to be found by posting stuff online, he went out and replaced it so he could keep riding. this ant bike is not the first nor the last bike that will ever be stolen. life sucks. move on. bikesnob is funny. nuff said.

Alas, Snob, you've discovered one of the great TRVTHS of the universe: people who have finely-tuned senses of humor often find themselves being called a "fucking asshole" by folks who aren't up on the joke.

Now, you may be tempted to utter one of the fall-back excuses (also known as "the cat's excuse") such as saying "too soon?" or "I didn't mean to knock over the casket" but I say to fly your freak flag high.

When he gets over his snit, you'll be back on the blogroll. And he can turn his attention to other things, like not using those Sears-grade pop rivets to hold his nameplate on the steerer tube.

I realized last light the ads were fake. The first thing I noticed about the bike was the name ant on it. I left a comment about Ant1st in reference to the ad.

I then went back and examined the comment. I then searched for "My bike was stolen at NAHBS" on google, to see if a bike was stolen at the show. The first article I found on a bike theft at the show had a photo of the bike. I compared the two photos and realized they were not the same bike but the exact photo.

All this to say, it took me 18 minutes between the two comments to come to the obvious conclusion that some joker posted the craigslist ad, confirm my suspensions, post my comment, preview my comment, and make sure the link worked, then published my comment.

I must say it is in poor taste to post such things as if they are real in a venue one would think was real. The person who did it could also have violated some kind of law.

PS: I don't believe the rumor that the web site is trying to start that you are that guy. Just don't picture you looking like that.

That's the last time I post a Craig's List ad about a "clown bike." Sorry you got swept up in that, Snob. I was just teaching that guy a lesson about improper locking techniques. He tied the seat post to a parking meter with a rubber band. It was irresistible. I'll mail the bike back to him in an envelope. It really does fold well.

(pretending this to be NPR)Longtime reader, first time commenter. You can't win them all Bike Snob. It was nice of you to be the Good Samaritan. Unfortunately some people jump to the wrong conclusions.

Congrats to Sergio, way to rock the cable and lock combo. And big thanks to you, BSNYC, and Performance for giving him that bike!

Can't that guy just build/buy a new bike ? Isn't that what he does for a living ? Isn't that why he was at a Handmade Bike Show ? and if he does do this for a living what does riding that kind of bike say about his taste in bikes ? enough clowning around get a real bike ! Alternatively, I hope he gets it back.

Oh wow, this was the first time I've ever laughed out loud at a column! The "fucking asshole" comment was to much for me to contain! It sucks when your bike gets stolen, but he aftermath in this situation is hilarious!P.S. pull some strings for me will you

Worry not. Crises like these expose one's true character. Clearly we have here a charlatan with no sense of humor and perhaps a particular sensitivity to having his bike called 'gay'. Soon he'll be exporting production to slave states and driving around in a big SUV. At least it'll be a hybrid.

How long until antbikemike sees his site traffic blow up, realize he's a dumbass, and come slinking back to bikesnob with a big fat apology? I'm betting there's a give away contest of some nice ant bike accessories in the near future on bikesnobnyc.

Guess this is like getting shot at a gun show, at some point you gotta realize that everyone other than yourself will find the humor.

But I thought people who rode folding clown bikes would already have a sense of humor. I do see Clown Bike Mike's view though, unfortunate, but most people in Ma. are a lil slow(most not all, hav a lil sympathy.

Just reading your Twitter feed, I had no idea the ad was supposed to be a joke. Was Mike's bike as badly locked up as some have stated? (Not that I think that's an invitation to start excoriating someone.)

But I also think it's inconsiderate and irresponsible to accuse someone in a public forum of doing something he didn't do (i.e., posting a fake ad), and I'm sorry you got hit by Mike's anger.

"I feel differently about it. Not the kind of exposure I want. I do not want to get calls late at night telling us about the ad, causing my my wife, kids and I grief [got us all up out of bed on a school night]. I have many friends looking out for me. We emailed this guy with the ad. He responded by saying he would meet us at 11am today. I have an undercover cop that will be at the meeting spot, that is now wasting his time and will never listen to us again! I did feel that there was something weird about the ad and then not to suprised that it turned out to be fake, however are you telling me that I should have done nothing? I think you would feel different, if your bike was stolen and this was happeing to you. Yes, we did get a lot of exposure from this theft. Many thousands of people know about it, tweeted it, blogged it and linked to the event along with everyone at NAHBS coming by to say they feel the pain. I would much rather that my bike was never stolen. That I was not so stupid to lock my bike with a cable [thick one], unattended for a few minutes [20?]. Shit it is 9am and I guess I should try and get in touch with the police and tell them to NOT follow up on this. I really ned to get to work…not dealing with stupid shit like this WASTING MY TIME!!!!!!!!"-antbikemike

What will happen if his dog gets stolen and now the undercover cop wont help him find it! Now he will get thousands of fake leads on the bike for months and no sleep. Look what you have done you power tripping blogger. Someone could have been hurt! Whats your next plan? Ruin the Whitehouse? The world? The power of your blogdom...It sure makes my day!

It's quite obvious that the actual culprit is Vito. Both the bike theft and the CL posting. Vito's right, it is a "gay" bike...

Think about it: Snob out of town, Vito hops Amtrak south to Richmond, swipes the monkey sized bike, returns to NYC. Vito has a few hours to kill before Snob returns, has to get rid of his ill gotten booty. Posts the ad using "Ol' Buckshot" (which as the co-curator of this site he has full administrative privileges to). No responses because this guy is still "out-of-town", so Vito dumps the bike in the East River...all unbeknownst to Snob...

I'm really sad that you're so apologetic, Snob. It doesn't look good on you 'tall. Maybe there's a section of the population that thinks all the content on your blog is created by you (via the Onion), in that case you should consider it a compliment. Maybe antmikebike is also joking about the 'fucking asshole' comment he made as well.

I mean, you used to make fun of Prolly all the time, and now you're like besties or whatever.

I think this Mike guy should be held accountable for your mint juleped monitor. Nothing gets that stuff out. Long time listener, first time caller, just wondering if you saw this? City provided hand and foot rails for cyclists.

Someone needs to call a congressional committee and have Snob apologize, in a heartful way written by some spin doctor, that conveys genuine disinterest, and also says "don't sue me".

Flanigan should just harden the fuck up and be surprised/flattered that anyone stole that POS. Grant Petersen should be so lucky, everyone just assumes a Rivendell is an outdated discount bike from Walmart.

I guess thsi is one of those moments, when we figure out that twitter is not a good idea. Nobody really needs to know what we are thinking at that moment. (like right now). Ant makes custom bikes, some are somewhat interesting, he rides a folding bike, and does not use a u-lock. I think this is a crisis of immaginable proportion.

All of the innocent should be punished severly, everybody who showed and attended nahbs must return to virginia to drink shitty warm beer, and listen to boring stories.

The police will be investigating all ass holes, since the thief must have one.

If Mr. MFer didn't want anybody cracking jokes about his bike he should have never built such a ridiculous POS.

Snob, this is the price you pay of being funny in an increasingly political correct and whiny-ass world. Maybe Fatty could come up with a fundraiser so we can raise five bucks and buy this sour-ass lug-a-phile a fucking sense of humor. It wouldn't solve the problem, but it would be a start. I'm in for a penny.

Snobby- "much ado about nothing" . Terrific writing and blog, emotionways running high now, and in the end everyone will laugh and head out for a hammerfest group ride wearing silly clothes and drinking beer. I think there will be a run on clown bikes at Walmart, getting mine now for the weekend ride.

First of all Mike F is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. If getting mad about getting a bike stolen makes you a "self-important fucking asshole" then I guess I'm one too. All of us builders just got home yesterday from NAHBS and we're all exhausted, add to the mix a stolen bike. This whole thing is really my fault as I told Mike is was Bikesnob before we found out it wasn't him. So I guess I'm the idiot. Sorry Mike!

Just go check the hipster bike racks at VCU. The bike is probably there, painted primer gray & locked with two or three u-locks and a gun. Why the frig was this thing looked with a cable lock anyway? Because it was in "sleepy ole Richmond?" Anyone who lives there can tell you that bike thievery has a pretty high per capita ratio there. Cable lock on a sexy bike (and since this looks like the hipster holy grail of a Raleigh 20, this is a sexy bike) there is like saying "Free!"

Maybe if you had ever built a bike from the frame tubes up, you would realize it's not "just a joke". You dangled the opportunity to confront a bike thief in front of the builder's face. What an asshole.

I watched the ANT video and I now feel bad about stealing his bike and taunting him with the Craig's List ad. However, I must question the priorities of a person who thinks that one of the two essential items on a bike is a bell.

I'm not sure if it is time to initiate the "I am Spartacus" identity protection protocol.

But while I await further guidance on whether all commenters should announce "I am Ben Schumin" in order to protect BSNYC's anonymity, I note that I would definitely rock that tie dye shirt Ben's wearing in the picture on Mr. Geekhouse's site if I could get it in a moisture wicking fabric.

but seriously though, that pic from craigslist is the one he posted of his wifes bike, not even the stolen one - and who steals a bike and puts picturews of it up? i thought you supposed to list it w/o pics?

Meccanico - i'm pretty sure everyone around here knows, or can emphasize with, the shittiness of getting a bike stolen, be it on of many someone has built or the only thing one can afford, so let's not go down the "it's a _____ thing, you wouldn't understand" route. and as far as the dangling, one could argue that he was passing a joke along, which eventually got to mike, who unfortunately did not see the joke but instead misinterpreted the ad as a chance to confront the thief.

shit, i don't even know what mike thought. did he think snobby made the ad or did he think it was real. the fucking asshole comment seems to indicate he thought snobby wrote it (therefore must have known it was fake), but the thinking he could confront the thief indicates that he thought it was real, so why the fucking asshole comment.

He stole his own bike, he was right there, it had to be him, it's an attempt at publicity. He stole his own damn bike, nobody steals gay clown bikes. He is trying to promote clown bikes and get the public to accept them by deceiving them into thinking they are in demand. They are not and nobody is stealing gay clown bikes! He's the fucking asshole! Long live RTMS!

I understand Mike's anger.Rubbing salt in someone's wounds even indirectly is unkind.1) "Hey! I think I found your stolen bike."2) "Ha ha, you sucker!"

I can see why Mike may have ass-u-me-d the craigslist ad was real.

Thieves ARE stupid enough to post on craigslist the same picture as a bike reported stolen.

Not tweeting a disclaimer that Bike Snob was not the poster of that ad was an unfortunate omission on BSNYC's part. It certainly looked like a set-up. If a prank, it was mean, if merely an outing of a prank, it was mean and far less creative.

Mike's response however, is very out of character.

I'll guess he was angry about the theft, about being disappointed that he'd not located his bike when told it was found, and about being played/taken advantage of.And tired.

Only The Lobster can judge them.But that won't stop me!

Mike Flanigan not an uptight pretentious ass. If you think that, you obviously have not met him. And your pretension precedes you.

I'm proud to know him.

And I am surprised at all the animosity toward folding bikes.Hypocrisy is rife.

I think I may understand some of Mike's anger.Rubbing salt in someone's wounds even indirectly is unkind.Here's a synopsis:1) "Hey! I think I found your stolen bike."2) "Ha ha, you sucker!"

I can see why Mike may have ass-u-me-d the craigslist ad was real.

Thieves ARE stupid enough to post on craigslist the same picture as a bike reported stolen.

Not tweeting a disclaimer that Bike Snob was not the poster of that ad was an unfortunate omission on BSNYC's part. It certainly looked like a set-up. If a prank, it was mean, if merely an outing of a prank, it was mean and far less creative.

Mike's response however, is very out of character.

I'll guess he was angry about the theft, about being disappointed that he'd not located his bike when told it was found, and about being played/taken advantage of.And tired.

Only The Lobster can judge them.But that won't stop me!

Mike Flanigan most definitely not an uptight pretentious ass. If you think that, you obviously have not met him. And your pretension precedes you.

I'm proud to know him.

And I am surprised at all the animosity toward folding bikes.Hypocrisy is rife today.What have you. That's the comments page for you.

ditto commie on the hung. good thing the economy is so spry currently or i'd be concerned over HOPING ON A PLANE TO JAMAICA for some insane reason monday morning w/o even calling it in. dog's being fed by someone i don't know. (well barely know, i suppose) and i'm assuming she's still in my house. weird. time for a bananaish drink! employment shployment

The real irony is that the ANT folder is not a folder at all. It is a "Take a part" bike. I was too cheap to build some S&S frames and made these small wheel "Folders" out of scrap in my shop. I use the term folder bike, because I figured no one would understand take-a-part. I am going to make a new one [out of more scrap] and with parts from a kids bike I found in the trash. I can do this because I am a bad ass TIG welder [not a lugged builder]

How many ants, bike, mike, fuckers are out there. Get some new names, you douche bags. is it a folder, or a pull apart, no wonder he used a cable.

The problem is that Richmond is to blame, I have been there, and I would have stolen a clown bike to get out. Crap I would have stolen one of those silly wooden or bamboo bikes to get out of that town.

Consider the theft a donation to sanity.

I will start a defense fund for Vito in an unnamed swiss bank account in ANT's name. No the question is which ant?

As a young fixed gear enthusiast/ avid BSNYC reader I just wanted to inform you of the recent sighting of Robert Pattison (AKA "Twilight" asshole) "rocking" the tarck bike in the trailer for his upcoming and easily forgettable romance film, Remember Me. I would love to see you do a collabo ride with him assuming he didn't use a stunt double as the bike was "rollin breakless" which i like to refer to as "going commando". If your not interested in that sort of thing, I'm sure you have some witty comments on the video.

Just thought I'd weigh in with my usual ant first loser comment. AntBikeMike perhaps over-reacted, but then he did the right thing; and if you've looked through his website and read his history and point of view you find out that he's a very thoughtful, if a tad differently humored person. But in the end does wonderful stuff...just like Mr Snob (different venue though; different articulation).

I'd say yesterday was a win for everyone. It is now widely known that antbikemike has pioneered a new form of what he calls a "take-apart bike" (albeit without a proper lock), and BSNYC got 174 comments(and counting) to his excellent blog. Everyone else had fun, except maybe geekhouse. However, after looking at the NAHBS video on Urban Velo, I agree with Anonymous that those geekhouse bikes are some kind of ugly.

I am sure antmikebike is a good guy who thought salt was being rubbed into the still stinging open road rash of the theft of his bike (and not just a bike he bought at a bike shop but HIS bike that HE made with his OWN blood sweat and tears - think about that!). He could have reacted more diplomatically but sometimes emotions rule. Snob does not strike me as the type that would kick someone when they were down. So: two good guys, one bad misunderstanding. Beers in the Rose Garden all around!

Clearly, this is the work of Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong, with the obvious computer hacking skills of Floyd Landis, and the anonymous backing by the Trek Corporation. Trek doesn't want you to know how good a clownbike can be, so they stole it, reverse engineered it and are now knocking them off in Malaysia as we speak.

Ummm... How the FUCK could anyone possibly conclude that the CL was real? How??? Not only was the picture NOT of the stolen bike, it was the SAME goddam picture that Flanigan posted himself! And how about the verbiage?

And then Flanigan sets-up a fucking "sting" operation involving an undercover cop??? Are you fucking kidding me? Jesus Christ! This is priceless.

Not only do Flanigan and the moron from Geek House Bikes have no sense of humor whatsoever, they don't have a shred of common sense between the two of them!

Also... It's a stolen fucking bike! Not a fucking murder or a plot to overthrow the goddam government. Lighten up for chrissake. Ugh!

People who sell five thousand dollar versions of the same fucking thing that I can buy for fifty bucks (used) all day long need to play on a certain level of class, social status and civil interaction that confirms that their product is "exclusive". What I see is a guy lacking the social skills to work with any other people at all and has to lock himself into a room by himself and make his bikes. If he were to go into one of the places that his potential customers would frequent socially or professionally and start dropping F-Bombs he'd be eating ramin noodles pretty darn soon.

Just when I started to feel bad for a guy losing his bike, I glanced over his website to find out that he's really just a douche. Thank goodness I was quickly able to gather my nasolacrimal duct secretions and flip the bird to the ANT. I'd say good riddance to the guy.

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I just ran across this post, and have decided to hate ANT for the rest of my life. His wesite sucks, his apology sucked, and it would seem he pretty much sucks. Plus he is apparently friends with Tony Pereira, who actually makes great bikes. I would suggest anyone who does accosciate with this whiny little girl create some distance, as my hatred will overfill ANT's ability to handle it.

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About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!